Compound gearing structures, systems and methods are well known in the mechanical arts. A common problem is the need to translate the input speed and/or torque of a motor element input shaft into motive characteristics required for a task at hand. Typically, this requires reducing or increasing the effective speed of a rotating input shaft, and increasing or decreasing its effective torque force properties in a desired application. It is well-known to accomplish these tasks through the use of compound gearing structures, sometimes referred to as gear sets. Other common terms include “gearboxes” and “gear heads”, and still others will be apparent to one skilled in the art. Gear sets generally comprise sets of gears, shafts and bearings in an enclosed housing, and are readily available for purchase from a wide variety of manufacturers. They are available in a broad range of sizes, capacities and speed ratios, and a user typically determines the size and performance specifications and chooses or designs the appropriate gear set accordingly.
Conventional gearing arrangements within gear sets include spur, helical, planetary, harmonic, worm, bevel, and cycloidal systems. The physical space requirements and tolerances associated with the application of these conventional gear sets to input motor elements sometimes pose problems. In some applications, space and tolerance dimensions are at a premium, such as, for example, in small robotic or small machine applications. Similarly, weight considerations may indicate the need for a lightweight gear set structure. However, the need to define the gear set compound gearing structure with strong and resilient materials, typically using metal and metal alloy gearing and shaft structures, sometimes in combination with chain, cog belt or “silent chain” structures, requires certain minimum size and spatial dimension accommodations for the gear set as dictated by input and output element speeds and input and output torque specification requirements.
Moreover, the need to physically attach and support the gear set on the input motor structure, and to support the load and torque forces inherent in the operation of the prior art gear set, typically result in dedicated structural support elements that must be designed into the gear set for attachment to the input motor. It is common that these structural support elements result in increasing the material and space requirements associated with the gear set. These additional structural requirements may render some gear sets too large or heavy for small space, tight tolerance and/or low weight specification applications.
What are required are systems and methods that solve the problems discussed above, as well as others.